The Link between Human and Navi
by Tempest Strife
Summary: The story of Scorp.exe's entrance into the cyber world, Megaman.exe's adventure with her, and the direction the net based and dependant world of Megaman Battle Network is heading... This work has plot spoilers from the MMBN games. Please Review.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: Megaman EXE and all related characters and places are copyrighted by Capcom. I'm neither claiming to own any of their characters, nor am I profiting in any way, shape, or form by making this fanfiction. In fact, I congratulate and praise Capcom for making a game that used to be a sidescroller into a captivating RPG with an addictive plot. I own Scorp.EXE, and all of the characters not created by Capcom in this fic, so please ask me before using them. Thank you.  
  
-------------------------------------------- Author's note: This fanfic starts before MMBN, then in the second chapter picks up after MMBN2. Additional changes in the timeline will be added as notes at the beginning of new chapters, plus credits for ideas and characters not already covered by the above disclaimer. Please read and review, and have fun!  
  
It wasn't a dark and stormy night; in fact, the warm sunset colored Dentown in a rosy shade of red. Traffic flowed as usual, controlled by the automated crosswalks and traffic lights.  
  
The Navi shop was just closing as the last three customers walked out. A little five year old was holding her mother's hand and holding her brand new PET complete with Navi in her other hand. The Navi was not anything special: first Navis are not usually the custom programmed ones.  
  
Walking to the car was slightly difficult. The little girl wanted to concentrate on her new PET and not on where she was walking. Her father ended up picking up the girl and placing her on his shoulders. As the family reached their car a scientist smiled and waved cheerfully at them. Once safely buckled in, the happy family was on its way.  
  
As anyone with a bit of sense about them knows that things are not always as they appear. And only a select few, like Miyu, can see hints of the future before they happen. A dark and stormy night can be the best evening in one's life. Sunsets can shine warmly upon disasters.  
  
The cars are programmed to go along with traffic, and are regularly checked. This father thought it as one of his macho duties to jack in to check out the car's system with his Navi every night. This night the computerized car drove as well as usual. for a little while. The father's white knuckled grip on the steering wheel was not strong enough to turn it against the corrupt program's will. They crashed.  
  
The car had plowed right into a corner shop. this shop was eventually rebuilt into the aforementioned spiritual Miyu's Antique Shop. The mother and father managed to escape with only some cuts and bruises. but the little girl was not so lucky.  
  
The hospital was a cold place. The walls and metal equipment have no feelings or sense of time or life. The walls stay white, the equipment is stainless. The distressed parents' anxiety was thrown at the doctors and nurses, but the walls seemed to eat it up and replace it with a disturbing void.  
  
The only sign of life in this still cold place was the weak heartbeat of the little girl. The blipping and bouncing green line on the black screen was the only thing to testify that something did have life in the hospital. For some reason, the little girl was feeling no pain. What hours she was able to be awake she wanted to spend with her new Navi and PET.  
  
The doctors and nurses fit in very well with the hospital's environment. They knew the girl's condition was critical. And that was exactly what they said to the mother and father.  
  
The flatline. Such a loud thing in a dead place. Oddly enough, the only thing that testified to life ultimately cried out death. The girl's parents rushed into the room. The doctors had just finished describing the situation, and now. Their little girl was smiling, eyes closed, PET still in her hand. The Navi was unsure of what had happened: simple Navis are not programmed with the complicated issues of emotions and death. However, they can recite the definition, verbatim, from their dictionary files. That was the last time the mother and father saw their little girl.  
  
The body was missing. Her PET, too. The mother and father did not have the heart to argue with the hospital. A picture of the little girl was used for the funeral. Ultimately, however, the mother and father went on with their work and lives. Society is evil in that way.  
  
The body was stolen. The PET, too. They were brought to a lab. The body was not a corpse. Life still beat. How? Why?  
  
The girl was put on life support. Tubes in and out. Food in and out. Water in and out and wires. into her. Precise surgery. Extensive knowledge of the brain. Most would consider it impossible. But the girl was not a test. She was a final product of years of labor. She was to be SCORP.  
  
Scientifically Created Organism Representation Program.  
  
A wonderful Navi was made. A female. She looked rather small... but had the ability to grow. Data was put in. But the unnecessary and unwanted data of memories was taken out. However, it was not deleted. Whoever this mad scientist was, he could not bring himself to erase the remnants of the little girl's life. Perhaps there is honor among thieves.  
  
The Navi Scorp did very well on her first mission. A bank robbery. The Navis and programs protecting it had no chance. Scorp's operator had a vast knowledge of chips.  
  
The operator slid three chips in. Scorp's eyes gleamed as she recognized the advance.  
  
"Life Sword Three!!" Most of the programs and Navis fell from the Life Sword, but some of the more agile ones had dodged backwards from the attack. One Navi decided to charge at Scorp.  
  
Scorp's tail struck so fast a blink would have blocked out the attack. The blade sunk easily into the Navi's head. She jumped backwards to dodge the explosion as the Navi blew up.  
  
She had now brought out her scorpion claws. Large, fast buster blasts came from them. They alternated in attack like an experienced gunner with two pistols would. Another program fell.  
  
The remainders of the force protecting the bank were Navis with shields. Scorp dived in to get some attacks in with her tail. The Navis dropped their shields in hope of getting a hit in. Scorp smiled as a new advance was uploaded to her.  
  
"Gater!" Chip data has no morals or thoughts. A program identical to Gateman appeared. Scorp thwacked his back with the butt of her tail. The lancers shout out with the force of a meteor coming to Earth.  
  
Scorp retrieved the money data. She left a hidden program and a backdoor to collect more money over time.  
  
--------  
  
Years passed. The bank never needed to be robbed again. The program collected rounded off money data and Scorp retrieved the data for her master. What Scorp was used for otherwise was stealing information from labs and the Canter. Scorp grew visually older. and more developed.  
  
But Scorp grew restless. The simple reconnescence, deleting, and go-getter jobs bore her. Boredom often leads to destructiveness. This boredom led Scorp to hacking into her operator's files when he was asleep. and found some old data. The old data seemed to have and almost lifelike and mysterious feel to it. Curious, Scorp inspected the data closer. The data left to her. And it melded into her. And Scorp remembered. Not everything, of course. Memories are too complicated to put on just one file. This file happened to show the day when a little girl got her first Navi. and a horrible car crash. and the man who stole her.his voice sounded so familiar. But it couldn't be.  
  
Scorp's rage was a wildfire as she savagely hacked into the security camera. The data transferred to a hologram before her. And she saw and recognized her operator and captor's face as one and the same. Then Scorp's rage transformed into a plan. and she started programming furiously. It was one of the skills she had needed and gained from reconnecence and sabotage.  
  
The next day was another "bank run". Scorp played along. until she warped through the back door. Her tail whipped out. The money staling program exploded. She retrieved the money data.  
  
"What are you doing?!?" The operator raged. For the first time, Scorp noticed that he had the air of a mad man.  
  
"You killed me." Scorp said coldly.  
  
"What are you talking about?" A twinge of the truth quivered in his voice.  
  
"You took my life, my memories..." Scorp prepared to use her program.  
  
"THEY took my job, stole my life's work, that Dr. Hikari." If Scorp had bothered to listen past that she would have heard her former master bragging about Scorp being the sum of what he had worked on his entire life. Instead, she labeled the rest as pure hot air and carefully stored the name Dr. Hikari in her memory.  
  
"You took MY LIFE!! Now I shall take yours!" Scorp roared. Her voice came out of the console's speakers distorted, inhuman, and hideous. Then the console spat out thunder at Scorp's former master. It shot painfully through his brain. It felt like his eyes were going to burst. Ultimately, the electricity found its way to his heart.  
  
Scorp cursed at herself for not setting up something so she could watch her revenge rather than just listening to the anguished cries. Then Scorp wondered if she even had a human body anymore, what her name used to be, and if any more of her memory data still existed.  
  
Scorp left the bank. Not a single program knew anything had happened. but the Center did find out that a Navi attacked an operator.  
  
Some viruses are not as they seem. Scorp found an unoccupied payphone. with the exception of some mets. But they and Scorp both managed to live peacefully there. But Scorp still searched for her memories and for the reason why something so horrible happened to a little girl in Dentown. 


	2. Time Goes By

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? In summer there is no school and the netbattlers come out to play.  
  
"Lan! Come on! We should get to the center before all the good requests are taken.!"  
  
"Hmmmmmmmnnn." Lan rolled over in the bed, then wrapped the pillow around his head.  
  
"LAN!" Lan jumped up, but got tangled in his sheets in the process. With a loud "thunk" he hit the floor headfirst.  
  
"Lan? You alright?" Megaman could not see much from the confines of his PET on top of Lan's junk drawer.  
  
"Owwwwe.. Can't you let me sleep a little bit later in the summer?" Lan complained while rubbing his rather sore head.  
  
"I did Lan. It's already 9:00. Your mom had breakfast waiting for you." This got Lan's attention. With a few sniffs of the air he identified his morning meal.  
  
"Alright! Pancakes!" Lan slipped out of yesterday's clothes, which he had slept in, and into another "fresh" pair. Lan grabbed his PET and jumped down the stairs to the living room three at a time.  
  
"It seems my little scientist is finally awake." Lan's mom set down a fresh plate of pancakes at the table. After quick, but heartfelt, "Arigato," Lan sat at the table and ate like any young boy would.  
  
"So what are you going to do today, Lan?" Mrs. Hikari ushered, glad her son had such a healthy appetite.  
  
"We're going to the Center." Megaman answered for Lan. Lan wouldn't have been able to answer with his mouth full anyway. "Lan wanted to get some more requests done."  
  
"You might be able to find a summer job, you know. Maybe Megaman could do check-ups and maintenance for a business network. With an SSS License, a job like that would be easy to find." Mrs. Hikari offered.  
  
"How boring." Said Lan. He was already through his first plate and was going into the kitchen for seconds. "Jacking into the same thing day in and day out."  
  
"We get enough money from battling viruses on the net." Megaman added.  
  
"All right! Okay you two, I get the picture. Don't forget to visit your father while at the Center. It means a lot to him."  
  
After Lan had finished his third helping, he made his way to the Center. The morning rush was already over with, so there was no wait for the metroline. By the wonders of modern transportation, Lan arrived in Marine Harbor in a matter of minutes.  
  
"Let's get a request first. That way we can tell Dad where we're headed." Megaman said as soon as they exited the Subway and stepped into the sea air.  
  
"Good idea." Lan looked around the harbor. He had not been there much during the school year. His mom insisted that Lan spend most of his free time on homework and watched him like a hawk. An old man and woman were looking at the flowers on the outcrop between the stairs. A little kid just got a good chip from the chip trader beside the nearest flight of steps. That waitress still didn't quit. and Ribbitta was interviewing a Canter employee? By the look of him, he seemed like one of the netbattlers that helped protect the mother computer. Lan walked closer so he could her the interview.  
  
"Are people in danger of their own Navis?" Ribbitta inquired the battler.  
  
"Absolutely not." The man said.  
  
"Was this attack caused by the abuse of the Navi? Ribbitta pried harder.  
  
"We are nor quite sure what caused the Navi."  
  
"Will there be more attacks like this? Is the Center's programmers to blame?" Ribbitta's voice was dripping with accusation. Inside, she grinned. She was giving her viewers exactly what they wanted. Someone to blame.  
  
"This Navi was a complete anomaly and not programmed by the Center."  
  
"Then a third party company made the Navi? What else do you know of this Navi?" Ribbitta's eyes glistened. She knew she just hit the million dollar question. She could tell by the look in the netbattler's eyes.  
  
"Um. No comment." The man made his way to the center, not worse for the wear, but slightly agitated. Ribbitta's shoulders slumped. Just when it was getting juicy. then she spotted Lan.  
  
"Uh oh."Megaman said Lan's thoughts exactly. Lan put on a false smile.  
  
"Lan! Lan Hikari!" Ribbitta ran over to Lan. Her steadycam man followed. "Your father is Dr. Hikari, right? What does he know about the programming of the rouge Navi?"  
  
"Ummm." Lan started sweating. He really didn't expect to be put on TV... especially for breaking new he had just heard about!  
  
"No COMMENT!" Megaman shouted from the PET. Then, Lan and Megaman made a hasty retreat to the center... 


	3. Promises of Danger

"What," said Lan after catching his breath, "Was that about?"  
  
"A rouge Navi?" Megaman said. There was a bit of confusion in his voice.  
  
"Could it be Bass?" Lan asked. He walked over to the stairs leading to the license room and request board and sat on them. His heart was still racing a little.  
  
"Couldn't be Bass." Megaman's voice was thoughtful. He was wondering who the Navi was too. "Bass doesn't have an operator. I'm sure of it."  
  
"How could a Navi attack its operator anyway? It's stuck in a PET and programmed not to hurt people. even the WWW and Gospel Navis did not hurt anyone directly."  
  
"The netbattler said that the Navi was not programmed by the Center, remember? Whoever programmed it probably didn't program in the program to prevent the operator from getting hurt. And you wouldn't believe how easy it is to hurt someone from inside a PET. Fooling with some of the programs in here could cause the PET to overload and give the owner a nasty shock."  
  
"Whoa. I didn't hear of that before. Remind me to think twice before getting you angry Megaman."  
  
"Don't worry about it too much. Now let's get a request before all of them are gone!"  
  
There were still some requests left, but only because they were either to petty or too difficult for the mainstream netbattlers.  
  
"Hmmm. lost cat. let's leave that one for someone trying to get an A License."  
  
"Hey, what about that third one?" Megaman pointed it out to Lan.  
  
"-Help! Virus Busting!- Sounds good." Megaman opened up the request so Lan could read it.  
  
I am starting a new business. The old equipment needs to be cleaned of viruses before I put my new state of the art programming in. I won't put any information about the program here. I don't want competitors to steal my idea. Whoever completes this task will have free access to my new service. Please meet me at the tunnel near the Dentown metroline station.  
  
"Lan, will you accept this request?" Megaman asked.  
  
"Yes. why do you always say it like that?"  
  
"Don't know. habit, I suppose." Megaman said, shrugging.  
  
The little taken icon popped up next to the request. Lan made his way out of the Center.  
  
"Lan! What are you doing? Mom said to visit Dad while here."  
  
"Oops! Thanks, Mega!" Lan said. His course changed to upstairs. Once into the Center's lobby, Lan noticed the long line at the help desk. Mothers, children, mothers with children, old people, netbattlers. just about everyone from every group was there.  
  
"What's that about?" Lan wondered out loud. To his surprise, the secretary at the middle desk answered him.  
  
"They all want their Navis' human protection program checked or replaced. The 12:00 news on CNN just aired." She said with a sigh.  
  
"Whoa. 12:00. We should grab some lunch before doing that request. Dad is probably hungry, too." Lan picked up some coffee from the coffee machine for his father. He also jacked into the coffee machine o say "hi" to the programs. Programs can get overstressed and refuse to work if they do the same thing everyday without a word of thanks. Lan still remembered the program from the barbecue that took a vacation when the net was covered with Gospel's ice. Finally, Lan walked over to the elevator, pressed the button, waited, and stepped in.  
  
"Megaman do you remember when almost the same thing happened after When PETs Attack premiered?"  
  
"Yeah. That's when they improved the human protection program in Navis. But this time it is real. and I have a bad feeling about it."  
  
Ding! The elevator reached the third floor of the Center. Lan walked out and turned left towards his dad's office. Mr. Hikari looked up over the top of his cubicle surprised not to hear this set of footsteps hurried and panicked.  
  
"Lan!" Mr. Hikari immediately set down what he was doing and walked over to Lan. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"School ended yesterday, remember? I came to get a request, and thought I'd visit you." Lan handed over the steaming foam cup of coffee to his father. Mr. Hikari took a very long therapeutic sip.  
  
"I appreciate the thought, but everyone at the Center is really busy right now."  
  
".with the rouge Navi?" Megaman offered.  
  
"You two heard too, eh?" Mr. Hikari asked. Lan and Megaman both nodded. "Well, that newscast didn't help. Now on top of trying to investigate the attack, we need to check and reinstall human protection programs on all these Navis.."  
  
"We could help inves.." Lan started.  
  
"NO! I don't want you to get involved with this Lan." Lan's father looked furious.  
  
"But." Lan was hurt. He had only saved the world twice. What was a rouge Navi compared to him and Megaman?  
  
"Lan, this isn't like before. Megaman can be healed with a subchip or battle chip, but you can't." Lan looked into his father's eyes. And Lan knew his father was right. Lan could also tell that this rouge Navi was stressing him out more than the WWW and Gospel incidents combined.  
  
"Alright. I won't investigate. I have a request to do, anyway. If me or Megaman see or hear anything, though, we'll tell you first." Lan was slightly scared now. Anything that could effect his father this much must be big.  
  
"And at the first sign of trouble, you jack out. You got that? I couldn't bear losing you and Megaman." Lan's eyes widened a little. -you and Megaman-. That meant that this rouge Navi was so powerful that he would have to synchronize with Megaman to beat it. and he still might lose.  
  
"No problem. See you later Dad!" Lan ran to the door of the elevator, still waving to his father behind him. Man he was glad to be out of that situation. It wasn't long before the third floor light lit up. With one more "Bye!" Lan boarded the elevator.  
  
"You didn't tell him yet, did you?" Megaman asked Lan. His voice was very concerned.  
  
"Huh? Tell him what?" Lan said, confused.  
  
"About the radiation after the Gospel incident. Those servers were over 300%."  
  
"Oh, that. I'll tell him when he's older and more mellow. He won't over react as much that way." Lan said non-chalontly.  
  
"Lan." Megaman pleaded. He realized how much pain Lan had gone through when he had all that radiation surging through him. When Megaman opened up the full heart link, the pain surged through him too.  
  
"Hu. Megaman, it's not like I can tell him now. He's stressed enough as it is."  
  
"I guess so." Megaman backed down. Lan always tried to act so machismo.  
  
"Hmmm. kinda funny, the way trouble always finds us, eh?" Lan smiled one of his carefree smiles. The elevator door ringed, and Lan stepped out.. 


	4. Food and Gossip

To avoid Ribbitta, Lan exited the Center from the request room and walked up the stairs closest to the metroline. Just when Lan entered the station, his stomach growled. The gurgly sound echoed against the concrete walls. Some of the people waiting for the metroline glared at him.  
  
"Heh, heh. Guess I'm a little hungry, huh Megaman?" Lan placed a hand over his stomach to mute the noise in case his stomach decided to place another verbal complaint.  
  
"Just a little. why not have lunch at Kotobuki? We could say hi to Sean too."  
  
"We might not get to Dentown in time then." Lan picked up a ticket for Dentown to use after lunch. The Kotobuki, Dentown, and Government Complex stops had been recently added to the metroline. After the WWW incident, the stops had been closed for repair. But now they were open to everyone again. Even the Kotobuki stop opened up after the radiation was filtered out of the area.  
  
"We'll just eat lunch here at the harbor." Lan went outside and took a seat at the Diner. The waitress walked over.  
  
"Hi Lan!" She said gleefully.  
  
"Hi." It was odd how everyone knows your name after saving the world twice. "BLT please?"  
  
"I never liked the lettus on a BLT. So bland and tasteless. Should be BT." The waitress trailed on.  
  
"I don't see anything wrong with lettus." Lan pondered.  
  
"And to drink?"  
  
"Orange soda please?"  
  
"No problem, I'll be back in a sec."  
  
Lan took a deep breath and sighed.  
  
"I don't mind the adventure and all. But I could do without the fame. Before Ribbitta, no one knew what you and I looked like."  
  
"Yeah. Now no one will even battle us. except for fan boys and thrill seekers." Megaman pouted.  
  
"Even worse is the Megaman look-a-like Navis kids are buying." Lan sounded even more miserable than Megaman. The waitress then came out of the kitchen and walked to Lan's table.  
  
"So you guys were on the news earlier, right?" She asked cheerily while placing down the sandwich on the plate and the glass of soda.  
  
"Not by choice." Megaman sighed.  
  
"She has this thing about shoving a microphone in your face." Lan was covering his face. He hoped no one else would see him and bring it up.  
  
"From what I heard, she kind of caught you and Megaman off guard. But it is kind of scary having a Navi that can attack humans directly." Lan rolled his eyes. Ribbitta got another viewer hook, line, and sinker. And the waitress didn't even SEE the news that day.  
  
"I wouldn't worry about it." Lan found himself reassuring the girl. "The Center is working on it, and they seem to be getting along well."  
  
"Coming from you, that means a lot, you know? Why didn't you say that to Ribbitta earlier?"  
  
"I woke up at 9:00! I didn't even know anything until I came to Marine Harbor. And then she shoved the mic in my face."  
  
"Ah. Well, see you later!" The waitress returned to the other tables she was working. Lan finished his soda and sandwich quickly, as not to remain around the busy hub of gossip much longer. Within minutes, Lan and Megaman were on their way to Dentown. 


	5. The Job

Dentown had become much larger from when Lan was there last. Buildings became bigger. Roads became longer. Taxes got higher. But the tunnels and crosswalks were the same as always. Lan headed to the one nearest the station, like the request said.  
  
A tall slim man stood waiting in front of a row of five payphones against the tunnel wall. The man seemed to be around the age where he should be in, or just getting out of collage. He was somewhat lanky, his hair was messy, and he sported a thick pair of glasses. He almost looked like a younger version of Higsby.  
  
"Hey! I didn't expect a kid to come. Well, as long as you can bust viruses, I won't complain."  
  
Lan blinked a few times in disbelief. This guy actually didn't recognize him.  
  
"You don't watch TV much, do you?"  
  
"TV? Pheh! All they do is tell you what to think. I stay at home and figure things out on my own."  
  
"Ah. So what's the rest of the story on the request?" Lan was beginning to realize that this guy was a bit odd. He didn't want to spend more time with him than needed.  
  
"Ahh yes. You see these phones? They are connected to every house in the world. But, of course, you need a phone number." The man pointed out a dusty phonebook beneath the payphones.  
  
"These things don't get much use nowadays with PETs doubling as cellphones. In communication, there is no middleman. Delivering files should be the same thing. Navis will no longer need to traverse the net. I have created a program that will transport a Navi to any transport address as long as they have the transporter's access code."  
  
"Whoa." Lan was really impressed. Didn't the request say free access to the new service?  
  
"Pretty cool Lan! We won't have to hoof it to Undernet 7 anymore." Megaman was obviously happy about the new program too.  
  
"So why didn't you bust the viruses on your own?" Lan wondered.  
  
"I'm a great programmer, but I'm only so-so at virus busting. My next project is to program a Navi that will suit my abilities. Too bad Navis can't evolve to fit the operator's style."  
  
"Umm. yeah, that would be a great Navi!" Lan was smiling fakely to hide his laughter. Megaman was covering his mouth to stifle any giggles that might escape.  
  
"Anyways, these phones are chock full of viruses, so you have your work cut out for you. You need to exterminate all the viruses from one phone completely before moving onto the next. Otherwise, the viruses will multiply and all your work will be for naught." The man handed Lan a piece of paper.  
  
"That's my e-mail address. And you can call me Url. E-mail me when you are done. This might take more than a day."  
  
With that, Url walked away rather happy. Most likely because he was hearing the money rolling.  
  
"You ready Megaman?"  
  
"As always!"  
  
"Alright! Megaman, jack-in!" 


	6. The Area

Lan plugged his PET into the nearest payphone's jack in port. Within a few moments, Megaman was inside the phone. As he looked around, he realized the phone's programming and network was rather primitive. But it was still a much larger area than most appliances he had been into had. Coiled cords with receivers on both ends danced in the background, as well as the occasional number.  
  
However, the most obvious thing was the large amount of mets. Mettaur of all shapes and colors. Even one variation that Megaman hadn't seen before; which most likely meant the purple mettaur were stronger than the ones he had encountered before.  
  
"Wow. That Url guy was right. With all these viruses, this might take a while." Megaman gazed at all the mettaur. They were not attacking. Hadn't they seen him yet?  
  
"Sending chips now, Megaman!" Megaman analyzed the data Lan sent him.  
  
"Nice Lan!"  
  
"Go get 'em Megaman."  
  
A pick appeared in Megaman's hand. Megaman started juggling it from hand to hand, spinning and twisting, almost like a skilled martial-arts master with nun-chucks. Lan didn't mind the delay. This was the only way him and his "brother" could play together, really. Chaud would probably flip if Protoman showed off like this. not that Protoman needed to show off. he just kind of did it.  
  
Megaman brought the miming pick forcefully down into the ground, leading into the blow with his elbow. The tiled ground in front of Megaman gave way, crumbling into the bottomless pit of the payphone's programmed interface. This got the mettaur's attentions. Some stood there, startled, while others, mostly the blue and purple ones, brought out their picks apprehensively. Megaman noticed the odd behavior, and moved uncomfortably.  
  
"Get 'em, Megaman!" Lan encouraged. Just like Navis are disconnected to their masters' world, operators will never be able to truly understand what happens in the digital world.  
  
Megaman threw his doubt aside, then threw the chip data into the hole he had previously created. Knowing what was coming next, he jumped back away from the already-flaming pit. Suddenly, the pit erupted with lava splashing and cooling on the surrounding ground. When the smoke and ash cleared, a serpentine figure hovered in the pit. The heat from the figure made it hard to get near. The searing eyes burned so hot, they glowed blue like the base of a flame.  
  
The eyes, of course, were searching out the lava dragon's prey. The mettaur. Flames erupted from the ground. Many of the mettaur had already fled in fear. All that remained of the ones that stood their ground was the scorched tiles on which they had stood. Pleased with his work, the lava dragon puffed a satisfied cloud of dust and ash through its nostrils. When the gray cloud disappeared, so did the lava dragon.  
  
"I can't believe they ran away. Mettaur don't usually run."  
  
"Don't worry about it Mega. Megaman! Behind you!" 


	7. Into Battle

WHUMPH!  
  
Before Megaman knew what hit him, he was laying flat on the ground. He rolled out of the way of the next blow just in time, but almost fell into the broken ground in the process.  
  
"Megaman! Here!"  
  
Without even thinking about it, Megaman used the first of the chip data Lan sent. The ground sealed up, and all the burn marks from the lava dragon disappeared. This is when Megaman finally caught a glimpse of who he was fighting.  
  
"A Navi? A woman Navi?"  
  
"Hurry and use the chip I sent you, Mega!"  
  
While doing so, Megaman turned invisible. This seemed to infuriate Megaman's attacker even more.  
  
"You monster! How could you kill them?!? They were defenseless, never even knowing any life outside of this place!"  
  
Megaman now noticed that his opponent had flaming red hair to match her red eyes, also burning with anger as well as vibrancy in color. She had a theme about her of a scorpion, with claws and an energy bladed tail to match. Two bug like antenna sprung upwards from where her ears should have been. not that many Navis had ears anyway.  
  
Megaman shifted into a position to fire his buster. Within seconds of his boot's sole scraping the floor, the Navi had snapped her attention toward Megaman's location. Then her tail snapped towards him too.  
  
Caught off guard, the tail blade sliced across Megaman's chest. She wasn't pulling punches here anymore. The invisibility data was damaged as well, and Megaman returned to sight. Before the Navi could deal out more punishment, Megaman regained his balance and fired a charged shot at her.  
  
She dodged, but only nearly. Her fizzed as the data struggled to remain together,  
  
"Megaman! You need more power! Time for Hubstyle!"  
  
In a flash, the darker blue boots, gloves and helmet were replaced by a lighter hue. Also, this version of Megaman seemed more intimidating somehow. Something in the eyes.  
  
The Navi seemed slightly curious, but nowhere near intimidated or less furious at Megaman. From her throat let out a savage and guttural cry that left Lan stunned. Megaman, however, was to busy fighting for his life to be stunned. Fast and furious the Navi came; almost nothing but a blur was seen. Megaman could see enough to block a few of the beginning blows, but the ones afterwards were relentless. The Navi used her claws, clawbusters, tail, and feet to pummel Megaman. In fact, just as Megaman was about to fall to the ground from one blow, she hit him from the other side just to keep the endless beating going.  
  
Lan didn't have the privilege of someone keeping him standing. Megaman unknowingly drew more and more power from the heart link to try to survive; circumstantially, Lan felt every piece of the beating the Navi was giving. Lan laid on the cold and sun deprived floor of the crosswalk tunnel, gritting his teeth and trying to find the next bunch chips to help Megaman. Before he could set them into his PET, a sharp pain pierced his neck.  
  
"Why are you here?!?" The Navi roared. Megaman was on the ground with one knee and an energy blade that protruded out of one of the Navi's claws that had been, until recently, pummeling him with buster shots. The blade pressed painfully to Megaman's, and Lan's, necks.  
  
"A. a job. request." Megaman choked out. His words were hesitant because the air needed to form them was hard to come by.  
  
"What kind of request." She pressed harder with the blade. Data floated away like seeds from a dandelion from where the sword's edge protruded Megaman's neck.  
  
"To get rid of the mettaur. The phones are going to be used again."  
  
The Navi looked up in thought. Then she looked back down at Megaman, smiling.  
  
"Ahhh, so that's what that other Navi I deleted was doing. He was much weaker than you though. A lot less complicate programming, too. You have a link to the outside world." She looked at Megaman again, deep in thought, and her eyes showed despair that Megaman had never seen before in another Navi. Then they turned cold and looked at Megaman in disgust.  
  
"How much do you value life?" Megaman looked at the Navi completely bewildered. What in the net was she talking about?  
  
"Do you value it enough to owe me a favor? Enough to give half the profit of this request to me, although I'll be doing all the work?"  
  
"Do I have a choice?" The Navi smiled at Megaman's question.  
  
"Of course you do. You could choose to die where you lay rather than give up your spoils and owe a life debt to me. And judging by the sounds that were coming here from your operator's PET, I think I have a general idea what that link to the other world in your programming does."  
  
Megaman remained silent. He wanted to remain defiant, and not to give in to the blackmail. But it wasn't just his life on the line. And it was almost impossible to close the heart link when he needed so much power from it.  
  
"I'll get rid of the mettaur and let you live. But you owe me. Big time."  
  
"I'm not going to do."  
  
"No, no. Nothing illegal. Personal things. You probably have more freedom around the internet than I do. And your operator is probably good at detective work and netbattling, judging by your custom job."  
  
Once again Megaman remained silent. He gritted his teeth. Giving in was one thing in his programming not to do.  
  
"Do it Megaman."  
  
"Lan?"  
  
"I don't want to see you."  
  
"Alright."  
  
"Good." The Navi said, and stood up, releasing Megaman. "Don't forget to heal yourself. It would be a waste to ask favors of a Navi with permanently damaged data." She began towards where the remaining mettaur had been hiding, huddled together.  
  
"Oh. And the name of the Navi you owe your life to is Scorp."  
  
After talking to the mettaur, almost like a mother would to children, Scorp used the warp to go to the next phone, and the mettaur followed. Megaman used this time to heal himself. When Lan checked the other phones, they were all absent of mettaur as well.  
  
"Lan?" These were the first words Megaman said since he agreed to Scorp's deal.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"That was the rouge Navi."  
  
"What?"  
  
"She knew she was hurting you." 


End file.
